Stress-related endocrinological and psychopathological effects of short- and long-term 50Hz electromagnetic field exposure in rats.
Szemerszky R, Zelena D, Barna I, Bárdos G. · 2010
View Original AbstractChronic exposure to power frequency EMFs may act as a mild stressor, potentially contributing to depression and metabolic disruption.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to 50 Hz electromagnetic fields (household electrical frequency) for weeks and found increased blood sugar, stress hormones, and depression-like behavior compared to short-term exposure. This suggests chronic EMF exposure may act as a mild stressor affecting mood and metabolism.
Why This Matters
This research adds important evidence to our understanding of how chronic EMF exposure affects the stress response system. The science demonstrates that prolonged exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields at 0.5 millitesla can trigger measurable biological stress responses, including depression-like behaviors and hormonal changes. What makes this study particularly relevant is that it examined power frequency EMFs, the same 50-60 Hz fields generated by electrical wiring, appliances, and power lines in our homes and workplaces. While the researchers used exposure levels higher than typical household sources (which usually range from 0.01 to 0.2 millitesla), the findings suggest that our stress response systems can be affected by EMF exposure patterns similar to what many people experience daily. The reality is that chronic stress from any source, including environmental factors like EMFs, can have cascading effects on both mental health and metabolism.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.5 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 5 days, 8 h daily (short) or for 4–6 weeks, 24 h daily (long).
Exposure Context
This study used 0.5 mG for magnetic fields:
- 25Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 5Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of the present work was to study the long-term consequences of 50 Hz electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure with special focus on the development of chronic stress and stress-induced psychopathology.
Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to ELF-EMF (50 Hz, 0.5 mT) for 5 days, 8 h daily (short)...
Both treatments were ineffective on somatic parameters, namely none of the changes characteristic to...
Taken together, long and continuous exposure to relatively high intensity electromagnetic field may count as a mild stress situation and could be a factor in the development of depressive state or metabolic disturbances. Although we should stress that the average intensity of the human exposure is normally much smaller than in the present experiment.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2010_stressrelated_endocrinological_and_psychopathological_720,
author = {Szemerszky R and Zelena D and Barna I and Bárdos G.},
title = {Stress-related endocrinological and psychopathological effects of short- and long-term 50Hz electromagnetic field exposure in rats.},
year = {2010},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361923009003438},
}